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Revista de la Facultad de Medicina
Print version ISSN 0120-0011
Abstract
VILLADIEGO-MOLINARES, Marisol Margarita; RAMIREZ-MARTINEZ, Johanna Alejandra and RODRIGUEZ-PULIDO, Alba Isabel. Formaldehyde in occupational environments: literature review and an occupational health surveillance proposal. rev.fac.med. [online]. 2020, vol.68, n.3, pp.425-437. Epub Nov 23, 2020. ISSN 0120-0011. https://doi.org/10.15446/revfacmed.v68n3.73188.
Introduction:
Formaldehyde is a substance widely used in the industry; however, it is classified as mutagenic and carcinogenic to humans. In order to determine the risk of workers who are occupationally exposed to formaldehyde, it is necessary to monitor its environmental concentration levels and the biomarkers that allow identifying its potential health effects. Unfortunately, in Colombia there are not guidelines on occupational exposure to this substance.
Objective:
To review recent studies on occupational exposure to formaldehyde to design a monitoring and surveillance strategy for Colombian workers exposed to this substance.
Materials and methods:
A literature review was conducted in PubMed, MedLine, Science-Direct and Embase using the following search strategy: articles on occupational exposure to formaldehyde published in English or Spanish between 2013 and 2017. The following search terms were used: "occupational exposure", "formaldehyde" "mutagenicity test" y "DNA adducts" and their Spanish equivalents.
Results:
The initial search yielded 103 articles, of which only 36 met the inclusion criteria.
Conclusions:
Proper management of the risk derived from occupational exposure to formaldehyde, as well as the appropriate medical follow-up of these workers, requires the implementation of a series of interdisciplinary actions that allow the creation of a comprehensive occupational health surveillance system for workers exposed to this substance.
Keywords : Occupational Exposure; Mutagenicity Tests; Biomarkers; Formaldehyde (MeSH).